College kids were always up to something strange, it seemed to Mel. If they weren't doing one thing, they were doing another, and good luck keeping up to anyone who wasn't in on it. She and her coworkers at the Waffle House barely even noticed anymore. Nobody cared when a sleepy trio of twentysomethings slumped into a booth together at three thirty in the morning and the girl was six-four and had solid green eyes. Mel simply took their order and then brought a coffee refill to a trucker seated at the counter.
The trio seemed casual enough, flicking straw wrappers at each other and laughing, but there was an underlying tension between them, unspoken but communicated in brief touches and fleeting looks. Mel felt a little sorry for them, though she couldn't say why. Whatever the source, her "grandma senses" were definitely picking up on some heavy sadness between the three. It didn't deter their appetites any, though. For three people in the middle of the night, they certainly ate a lot of waffles. The lanky ginger boy seemed especially hungry. He reminded Mel a little of her own son, Calvin. She made a mental note to call him later as she brought the trucker his bill.
The ginger made a joke and the Latino boy kicked him under the table while the redheaded girl smirked. The ginger laughed, undeterred, and the other boy made a threatening gesture with his butter knife, then smiled reluctantly. The girl leaned against the ginger boy's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. The brunette dug a wad of cash out of the pocket of his leather jacket, smoothed it, then tucked a few of the bills under his plate. He grabbed the bill and slid out of the booth. The other two trailed behind a little reluctantly.
As he paid, Mel studied his face. He was handsome, but damn if he didn't have the strangest eyes.
A boy that young shouldn't have eyes that old, she thought.
"You kids have a good night!" she told them as they left.
"You too!" the Latino boy said, giving her a warm smile before he walked through the door into the early morning darkness.
Through the window, it almost looked like the girl's hair was glowing.
A/N: I meant to upload this a long time ago, but then stepped away from it for a while and kind of forgot about it. I guess that's what happens when you try and juggle 50 projects at once.
I guess this is my way of saying "All is well, goodbye, goodbye."